


The Return

by Adney



Category: Gentleman Jack (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:55:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27994104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adney/pseuds/Adney
Summary: So.. I decided to try and write a fanfic for the first time. I know there are quite a lot of GJ fanfics out there, some that are set in the original time period and others that are modern but I thought it might be interesting to experiment with a different time period, somewhere between the 1800s and modern day. I decided to pick the 1920s and I thought it would be interesting to think about what the Ann/e's might have done during that time.I've used many of the characters from GJ but mixed it up a little bit. I like history and i've tried to include things from within that time period but if i'm a few years off with anything then please be kind :)Anne Lister is returning home to Halifax from London where she had been working as a doctor during the war. It has been three years since her last visit home and has come back out of necessity more than choice.  While she is home she meets a young Miss Ann Walker. When they first met many years ago Miss Walker was gauche and shy and left very little impression on Anne Lister, but Anne has returned to find Miss Walker quite changed.
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

October 1917 - Lewisham, London.

The thud of bomb explosions was beginning to wane but the chaos at Lewisham Hospital was only just beginning. Anne Lister looked around her, trolleys carrying injured women, children and the elderly were being rushed into the operating theatres, she could hear nothing but the cries and moans of civilians whose houses had been hit by the German Zeppelins in the middle of the night. The whole street had been wiped out; their lives and their homes being reduced to nothing but rubble. There was blood everywhere, she looked to her right and saw a young woman being rushed into the theatre, she must have been in her mid-20's and was hysterical. Anne listened to the distraught woman who, through tears was wailing, her baby son was still under the rubble and she needed to go back and find him. She watched as the woman tried to get herself off the trolly, looking down and seeing an empty space where her forearm used to be, Anne watched the shock of horror as her eyes moved up towards her elbow which was nothing but a mass of blood. She screamed again which brought Anne Lister back to focus.

"Dr Lister, who shall we bring in first?", Anne looked at Nurse Robinson before pointing to the hysterical woman "Bring in this one", she swallowed heavily "We need to bind and stitch that arm before she bleeds to death, I'll go and get myself prepared...then we will get the others in but we will need to be quick as I received news that another ambulance is on the way".

The irony was not lost on Dr Lister that though these people were fighting for their lives that hers had never felt more exhilarating.

June 1920

The train from London to Halifax was a long and not very comfortable journey. Anne had already changed trains twice at Manchester and Leeds she could almost smell the scent of home. She felt like she was in a time warp as she gazed out of the window. In the time when she first arrived in London in 1915 to when she left it yesterday everything was different. She had watched in disbelief as a huge cigar-shaped blimp floated across the sky above, engulfing the town in its shadow, when she saw a hatch open releasing large metal containers Anne realised that this was not a blimp but a German Zeppelin that was releasing bombs which ripped apart the homes of hundreds of civilian families. It was not just homes that were destroyed but businesses, churches and coastal resorts. Not even St Paul's was exempt, A remembered hearing the news on the wireless that the Luftwaffe passed over the magnificent cathedral, damaging the high altar. People tried to ignore but expected that some of their men would not make it home but never did they expect the bloodshed to come to them, to their own cities as they sat reading their newspapers and going about their daily business. At the end of the war, the people of London started to piece the city back together; better than before in Anne's opinion but as she looked out of the window of the train carriage, she could see that nothing here had changed. She didn't know whether that was comforting or depressing.

Coming home was a rather bitter-sweet affair. Anne would be finally reunited with her family after three years since her last visit, she would get to see her sweet Aunt Anne, her father and her younger sister. But then she would have to explain why she was no longer working at the hospital, no longer a Doctor and no longer welcome among most of the London high society. The thought of it was almost too hard to bear, Anne rested her chin in the palm of her hand as she watched the English countryside swoosh across the window of her train cabin. The long trip gave her a lot of time to think, perhaps a little too long. Though the war had been difficult for many people, but not from Anne Lister As a woman, the thought of a good education and a high-ranking job in the medical field was all but impossible. Only a small number of women were able to train as a physician prior to the outbreak of the war, as a child she was inspired by the story of Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson, the first woman to qualify as a physician and surgeon in England. Born in 1836, Garrett-Anderson was able to find a loop-hole in the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries and was able to sit the exam, on that day seven students sat the exam and only three of them passed, Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson was one of them. Following her achievement, the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries amended their regulations so that women would not be allowed to take the exam what-so-ever. It wasn't until many years later when the law had changed, but even then, women found it difficult to be taken seriously in the medical field, many of them being offered jobs as nurses or doing research work. Anne was lucky, the start of the war meant that many of the male physicians, doctors and surgeons were sent to help the boys on the front. This meant that women doctors like her were finally given their chance to work as real doctors, instead of being relegated to the research room or other menial tasks. They were able to meet patients, complete examinations, diagnose, treat medical conditions and even perform surgery. Anne had always found the human body a fascinating thing, to look at all of the tiny intricacies that make up the very nature of our being. Life was a very fragile thing, that can be very easily taken from you, she often thought how lucky she was to be alive, to have life, how every tiny moment was an inexplicable delight, packed with potential. And she intended to take full advantage and live her life to its fullest potential.

She was brought back to focus by the rattling of the refreshment cart making its way along the carriage. She was only an hour away from Halifax train station, then she would need to find a cab of some sort to take her to her family home of Shibden. She had sent her Aunt a letter to inform her that she was coming back home, she skirted around the issue of why she no longer had her post at the hospital. Though the war ended 2 years ago, A had managed to get a job as a physician at another hospital, but almost a year into the post and something went horribly wrong, she had no option but to except that her job in London was no longer tenable and that she had to return home while the dust settled. Then she would decide the way forward. She had thought for some time about taking a boat from Kent and sailing across the channel to France and on through Europe, perhaps Denmark, Finland and on to St Petersburg. But post war Europe didn't sound too appealing and after several letters from her sister describing her dear Aunt's illnesses, Anne thought it better that she return home, though she didn't intend this to be a permanent move.

Suddenly she felt hungry, she searched in her bag for the bread and the small pot of jam that she had tucked away. She preferred butter on her bread as well as jam but this was still on ration so she had to make do. She will get a cup of tea from the refreshment cart when it finally makes its way to her cabin.

...............................

The pebbled ground crunched under the tyres of the motor as it swung into the court yard. After three years Anne Lister was finally home, she stood and stared at the yellowing brick that made up Shibden Hall with its Tudor half-timber frontage, she could hear the rustling and squawking of the chickens as they scrambled and fought for the last remaining vegetable scraps, confusing stones for food and spitting them out and pecking away at the gravel. She watched Argus, the Scottish Deerhound laying on the warm paving stones beside the front entrance, occasionally flicking his tale to ward of a fly who became bothersome. Shibden had been the Lister family home for 300 years, and it was owned by her uncle James and her Aunt Anne before Anne inherited the hall jointly with her dear Aunt. As the daughter of James' younger brother, she grew up with less money than would be expected for a person of her status. Travelling and seeing the world was merely a pipe dream to Anne before she jointly inherited the hall and was able to take an income from the rents of tenants occupying the farms and cottages on the vast Shibden estate. Before the outbreak of the great war, she had enjoyed many jaunts in the continent, spending many a month exploring France and the Pyrenees. She had plans to travel through Scandanavia and into Russia but the growing tensions in Europe put those plans to bed, for a few years at least. 

Anne turned and paid the driver, she took hold of her two bulging brown leather suitcases, wobbling slightly before regaining balance and crunching her way along the courtyard up to the front door of the house. "Dr Lister, you're back already. We didn't expect you until later" Betty Cordingley, the family cook smiled as she dried her wet hands on a grubby tea towel to greet her employer, At the sight of the dumpy cook Anna threw out her arms, enclosing her long serving cooking and now friend, "Cordingley! You know I was riding through Halifax in the cab thinking that nothing around here has changed but now I have seen you I am quite glad that it hasn't". At one time the Lister's had a staff of seven or eight servants, there was Hemingway, Joseph and John the groundsman to name but a few. But when the war started all of the male staff were eventually subscripted and sent to the front, the women found more excitement in the factories and eventually it was just old Betty Cordingley left. She had been with the family since Anne was a teenager and once Anna inherited the estate from her uncle the pair had a long employer and employee relationship. But over the years, they developed a fondness and Cordingley felt more like a friend than a servant. She was one of the family, part of the very fabric of the place.

"Is anyone home?" Anne enquired, looking around the signs of life. "Yes, ma'am. Your Aunt is upstairs resting and your sister is running some errands in Halifax. I have no idea where your father is but he is around here somewhere... do you want something to eat? You must be half starved travelling all of that way".

"I'll have a bowl of soup to tide me over until dinner, if you don't mind I'll take it upstairs while I catch up with my Aunt"

"of course Ma'am"

Anne smiled and turned on her heels, making her way through the entrance hall and up the wooden staircase, turning left to enter her Aunt's bed chamber. "Well, l I travelled all of this way from the Capital with no one but old lady Cordingley to greet me but hey ho!" The sound of her booming voice startled her Aunt who was deep in a cross-stitch. Aunt Anne held her chest in the shock of seeing her dear niece burst into the bed chamber and jump onto the bottom of her bed. "Oh dear Lord, Anna you frightened me half to death...oh dear girl, I'm so glad to see you home. We didn't expect you until later", Anne was pulled into a long embrace, she felt her Aunt's wrinkled hand hold the back of her head just in case she tried to resist. Anne felt a pang of guilt in her chest, she could see how much her Aunt had aged in the three years since her last visit, though they kept in touch with weekly letters she realised that she should have made more of an effort to visit sooner. They spoke for a short while about Anne's journey home and some of the characters that she encountered on the way, her Aunt Anne told her about some visitors that she had this week, she didn't get many visitors these days so when she did it was most exciting. "Mr and Mrs Priestley came to visit with their niece Ann Walker, you remember Ann don't you? She lives at Lidgate up in Lightcliffe, I think you visited her and her sister once when their parents passed away" Anne paused in thought "I think I remember... yes of course I do, the sister......Elizabeth was older by two or three years, it was her I mainly spoke with. I remember Ann not so much other than she was painfully shy and well, quite dull"

"She is a woman now of course" Aunt Anne said she adjusted herself in bed "Your father says that she has quite grown into herself. She is a teacher now at the Lightcliffe Church school. It confuses me as to why she would want to work at the school when she inherited all of that money but her brother fell on The Somme in 1916, they never did find his body, it's such a pity. I suspect that she has that job to keep her mind occupied...she enjoys it, apparently".

Anne was thinking and opened her mouth to reply when she heard a commotion coming from downstairs. It was her sister Marian she was frantically shouting for someone to send for a Doctor. Anne walked onto the landing, leaning over the banister

"What on earth is all of this shouting about?", Marian looked at her sister for moment in disbelief before realising why she had rushed in in the first place "Anne you need to come quickly, there has been an accident. Two motors have crashed up on Winding Road, a boy was hoop trundling on the road when the motor collided with him, he is pinned to the wall, I can't see his legs for blood, I think it's the Hardcastle boy".

Anne raced down the stairs, rolling up her sleeves and grabbing her battered medical bag. The sisters ran up to Winding Road where one car had the boy pinned to a crumbling brick wall, the other car must have clipped the first, Anne could see an older lady being helped out of the car by a man in a beige suit and a moustache, she looked shaken but ok, the boy on the other hand looked frightfully white. He wasn't even crying like he was in utter disbelief of the situation he had found himself in. "Has someone gone to fetch his parents?" she asked no one in particular but her sister answered "Yes, there was a couple walking along the path when it happened, they know the lad and have gone to find his parents". Anne walked over to the boy, trying to survey the damage on the way, he looked like he had lost a lot of blood. When a group of men who had staggered out of the local pub managed to push the car backwards to release the boy from his entanglement, she could see the catastrophic damage to his right leg. She could smell the blood oozing from his leg, it felt like she was back in Lewisham Hospital in 1917 when an ambulance full of injured civilians had almost been blown to pieces by enemy bombs. She felt the bile rise up and burn her throat, she swallowed it back down, the burning sensation remaining uncomfortably. She approached the boy slowly taking in his signs, his pale complexion, his heavy breathing.

“Are you Henry?“ she asked, trying to make her voice seem calm. She watched as the boy slowly nodded "My name is Dr Anne Lister, I'm going to help you, you've got into quite the predicament here". He didn't answer but watched as she held his arm, reaching for just below the rest to check his pulse. She turned to the group of spectators hovering around the scene like vultures to a rotting carcass.

"Right, I can't do anything for him here like this. We need to carry him back to Shibden, I think that leg is going to have to come off if he has any chance of survival", she turned to the group of men "Are you up to carrying him back to my home? It's just down the lane there. If we can get him back quickly then he might have a chance". They didn't need any time to give, the stockiest of the men picked up Henry Hardcastle and clutched him against his shoulder as he ran down the lane and into the court yard of Shibden. Anne followed behind feeling a flicker of excitement. She felt for the poor boy but she loved the operating table, being able to show her surgical prowess to everyone who had doubted her ability because of her sex. Anne instructed the man to place the boy on the old servants table in the back room. She washed her hands at the sink, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. She took a bottle of her father's brandy out of the larder, taking a gulp before rubbing some into her hands. "Marian, go ask Cordingley to give you the meat cleaver from her kitchen"

"Surely you're not going to do it with that?" 

"What choice do I have? It's miles away from the nearest hospital and he doesn't have that long. Please, just do as I ask" Anne took off the belt from her trousers and fastened it tightly above the boy's knee to restrict the blood flow. "Right Henry, I'm going to have to perform surgery on you in order to make you better. It will hurt but I will need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?" The boy didn't answer, but panted nervously, almost as if he knew what was going to come. Anne took another glug of the brandy and gave some to the boy, she turned to the group of men and asked to hold down the boy's shoulders when she began to cut off the bloody flesh and shattered bone that was left of his leg. She was just about to shout Margaret to hurry up and she stumbled into the room with the cleaver in hand. After dousing it in the brandy she began to cut into the thick, leathery flesh and to cut into the small amount of bone still holding the leg together. Marian watched hand-to-face in disbelief as the fragments of bone crunched beneath the sharp blade of the cleaver, the boy screaming in agony. As Anne was working, flecks of blood flew up to her face and onto her lips, she kept them pursed to stop her tongue from tasting the child's blood. She finished by sewing the loose skin into a stump, as the sewed the final stitches the boys parents entered the room. Henry Hardcastle's mother shrieked as she saw her youngest boy covered in blood and writhing on the hard wooden table in pain, being held down by a man who had clearly spent the entire afternoon on the drink. Anne looked over at the distraught parents and ushered them into the corridor "Mr and Mrs Hardcastle as you probably have been told, Henry was hit by a motor up on the road. The motor shattered his femur and tibia and there was no option but to remove the lower part of the leg before he bled to death. I have taken care to disinfect the best that I could and I have some pain relief in my medical bag that I can give you to take home but he is going to need bed rest for the next 4-6 weeks. I would suggest that once you have him home that you contact his doctor who will be able to prescribe some stronger pain relief to make him more comfortable"

Little Henry's mother nodded silently as if dumb-struck by all of the information, the boy's father shook Anne's hand "Thank you for everything that you have done to help our boy, do you think he will live?" 

"The most important thing to is to keep that wound clean. After all he has gone through on that table, the last thing we want is for him to get an infection and him go through all of that pain for nothing. He isn't out of the woods yet but all being well, he should make a good recovery" 

The boy's parents nodded in unison; Anne stepped back to let the couple comfort their son and take him home. 

She washed her hands at the sink, watching as the clear water turned red and then clear again. She took another glug of brandy and turned to offer the bottle to her sister to find that she had disappeared. She could hear the faint muffle of voices coming from the large parlour, she followed the sounds through the long, dark hall, pushing open the heavy wooden door to find the parlour almost full. Her sister Marian was pouring whiskey into small glasses, handing one to an older lady, one to a young woman sat beside her holding a napkin to her forehead, another to the moustasched man in the beige suit she saw earlier and one to Aunt Anne who must have come downstairs on hearing all of the commotion. Anne recognised the older woman as she one being helped out of the other motor at the scene of the accident. The gentleman looked alright, but the two women seemed rather shocked. 

"Anne" Marian called "would you take a look at Mrs Walker and her niece? They were passengers in the other motor, Miss Walker hit her head on back of the driver's seat in the crash". 

Anne looked over at the young woman who was perched on the edge of the sofa. The gentleman with the moustache tried to comfort her but she pushed his hand away "I'm fine, honestly, just a bit shocked that's all" 

"That's probably so Miss, but I can see you have had a head injury so it's best that I take a look just to be on the safe side, don't you think?" Anne walked over to the sofa and shifted her eyes to signal to the gentleman to move from the sofa to create some space and at herself down beside the young woman "And you are Miss ....?"

"Miss Walker" Margaret interjected "From Lightcliffe"

Ann Walker lifted her head and peeled the napkin from above her eye consenting to the examination.

"OK Miss Walker, let's take a look. You know, I didn't recognise you at first but now I can see it. We have met before.." Anne carefully pushed back the sandy blonde hair that had fallen over the wound and tucked it behind Ann's ear. She asked Marian to fetch her a clean, damp towel. "Do you feel nauseous Miss Walker?" she asked while waiting for her sister to return.

"No, I don't think so" 

"How about your vision .. is it regular?" 

"Yes" she blushed, realising that she was on show and everyone in the room was watching her. She was grateful for Marian for entering the room with the damp towel as everyone's attention diverted to the younger Lister sister. 

Anne began gently dabbing the cut above Miss Walker's eyebrow removing the mixture of wet and congealed blood that had formed, blocking Anne's sight of the wound. Anne placed two of her fingers on Helena's temple, spreading them apart gently to expose the inner wound. She looked at Miss Walker's eyes, they were blue, her pupils weren't dilated which was a good sign. Anne noticed quite how changed Miss Walker had come since their last meeting. She was no longer the gauche and shy teenager that Anne had visited all of those years ago but now a woman. Anne held out her index finger in front of Miss Walker's eyes and watched as they followed her finger from left to right, up and down and left again. "Hmm.. I think you're right Miss Walker, the wound looks more superficial than serious. I suspect you will wake up with quite a bruise tomorrow but other than that you will be perfectly fine" 

Miss Walker thanked Anne for checking her over, apologising for being such a bother. She felt embarrassed to be made such a fuss off especially with what happened to poor Henry Hardcastle. 

"Not at all Miss Walker. You can never be too careful when it comes to head injuries. I think Henry will be ok, I'm going to pay him a visit tomorrow, hopefully he will be over the worst of the shock by then. If you'd like I can stop by Lightcliffe on my way back and check you over again, as I said, you can never be too careful when it comes to head injuries, sometimes signs of a concussion can take several hours or even days to show".

Miss Walker smiled softly but repeated that she would be quite alright and didn't want to be a bother as Anne had only just returned home from the capital. Anne was about to insist but conversation had abruptly changed to the driver of the motor, she had forgotten all about the driver that crashed into the wall, trapping little Henry's leg and crushing it pieces. She listened as gentleman in the moustache and ghastly beige suit, who she now knew was a Mr Ainsworth, describe how the man behind the wheel had driven away once the boy had been freed, no one had bothered to look at the driver as everyone's concern was for the young boy. No one had even managed to get a look at him, but surely, Anne thought, a motor with a caved in frontage mustn't be easy to hide in a town like Halifax.


	2. 2

Anne awoke in her own bed for the first time in three years. It was a peculiar feeling waking up somewhere familiar yet unfamiliar so, her suitcases were lying open, their contents strewn across the floor. She wasn't usually so slovenly but after the long train ride home and the unexpected amputation she had to perform on the old servants table she was too exhausted to unpack. The servant's kitchen had looked like an abattoir and Anne couldn't leave old Cordingley to clean up the entire mess herself so she roped in her sister Marian and the three of them got it back to a reasonable state. It has been quite late when the last of the visitors left Shibden and by the time the old servant's kitchen had been scrubbed, mopped, scoured, wiped and polished she was spent and crawled into bed. 

She had managed to catch up with her father, who had returned from Halifax in the early evening to find his parlour full and his chair occupied by Old Mrs Walker fanning her face and shaking the last drops of his brandy out of the crystal decanter and into her glass - It was the shock, she had claimed. That reminder her, she had a busy day ahead of her today and it would not do to sit around in bed all morning. Morning was her favourite time of the day, the morning gave a new start, another day full of possibilities. 

After a breakfast of toast and boiled eggs, Anne unpacked and ordered her room. She dressed into her black high waisted dark grey, almost black breeches, slipping her feet into long socks which went into a pair of leather brogues - all black. Her white shirt was long in the sleeve which finished just above the wrist showing off her Swiss Patek Philippe Tonneau watch. She slipped on her black waist jacket and pinned her hair back into a tight bun placing a felt bowler over it. Anne inspected herself in front of the long mirror in her bedroom, neatening and brushing a few lint particles from attire with her hand until she was satisfied. It was strange to her that in 1922 women were still expected to go about their business in frocks and stockings; breeches were far more comfortable than long skirts and a damn site more practical. She was sure that her choice of outfit would cause some raised eyebrows in the streets of Halifax, she was met by odd glance in the capital but generally people there were more liberal and she could do pretty much as she pleased. She opened her medical bag to check she had everything with her that she needed. The leather that made up her bag was so distressed and creased that it was soft to the touch which contrasted with the cold, hard metal clasp that held the bag shut. You could always tell the doctors straight out of medical school as their medical bags were pristine, the leather without a crease or a ripple in sight. When Anne passed her final exam her father was perplexed as to why she wanted to buy an old medical bag from a second-hand store rather than a new one of her very own, but Anne knew what impression that a doctor turning up with a brand spanking new medical bag would give - inexperience - who would want an inexperienced doctor treating their son, daughter, brother, sister, father or mother? No, that wouldn't do. It was bad enough that people wouldn't take her seriously because she was a woman. The more experienced she looked the better. Sometimes patients mistook her for a male doctor, she didn't mind that at all, people were more trusting of male doctors and sometimes she would go along with it - she didn't see the harm in that. 

Anne left her bedroom and walked along the hall to her Aunt's bedchamber. She took in every inch of the corridor refamiliarising herself with everything. There were only minor differences in the decor, the odd painting that had been taken down and replaced with something else, something more modern. The morning was bright and as the sun seeped in through the windows highlighting every speck of dust soiling the picture frames and timber beams, she realised that the place was in a worse state than she realised. Now her Aunt was largely incapacitated and the servants gone, there was just Marian and Mrs Cordingley to keep on top of the house and when you have meals to cook, animals to feed, an elderly Aunt and father to look after in addition an endless list of other essential errands to complete on a daily basis, then dusting and polishing falls by the wayside. She would have to make some arrangements before she left for London again.

Anne peered into her Aunt's chamber from the doorway, she was asleep and wouldn't wake her. She will see her later. There was barely any wind as Anna stepped out into the courtyard and out of the main gates. She pulled out her thermometer from the inside pocket of her waist jacket -it was 18 degrees Celsius. A rather mild day and quite average for Halifax in June, she closed her eyes and thought of London. The capital was often a couple of degrees higher in temperature and she pictured herself sat in Lewisham park as she had been last summer sat on the grass with Mariana Belcombe drinking ale and enjoying the musicians playing a rendition of 'it's a long way to Tipperary' on the band stand. 

She stopped by the Hardcastle's farm to check on the progress of the young boy whose leg she took off just the day before. Mrs Hardcastle still looked quite shaken and the father was putting on a brave face for the lad but there was a red ring around his eyes to show that he had been weeping when out of the boy's sight. The Hardcastle's cottage was on Shibden land, William and his wife Alice had been tenants of the Listers for the past 10 years. They worked the farm well and always paid their rent - they were good people and Anne felt it a great shame for the family that their son be dealt such a difficult blow in life. But the boy looked well, as well as he could be. Their doctor had been to visit earlier that morning and according to the Hardcastles he was amazed at the clean job that had been made with the surgery, especially under the circumstances it had been performed in - the news gave Anne a great sense of satisfaction but she didn't want to show it in front of the boy's parents and they think her insincere. 

From there she walked the 30 minute trek to Lydgate. She strode along the dirt path along the hillside, it was a beautiful route but Anne was dismayed to see new factories and dwellings blotting the landscape with grey smoke rising from the chimneys and poisoning the air. Was this the cost of progress? She approached the vast Walker estate that has been owned by the family for generations - The Lister and the Walkers were technically neighbours but there were miles of farmland between Shibden Hall and Crow Nest, the jewel in the Walker crown. The Crow Nest mansion made Shibden Hall pale in comparison and it was there when Anne last met the gauche teenage Ann Walker and her older sister Elizabeth. Miss Walker now lived in Lydgate, a smaller home on the estate opposite the village school. Anne had wondered why Miss Walker chose to live in the small and inferior Lydgate house rather the opulent and magnificent Crow Nest. As Anne ambled up to Lydgate house, she spotted Mr Ainsworth exiting the front door, wearing yet another ugly beige suit. 

"How do you do Doctor?" 

Anna had hoped that Mr Ainsworth had strolled straight to his motor and drove off without seeing her but No such luck. "Good afternoon Mr Ainsworth, I've come to check on Miss Walker, she seemed quite in shock yesterday"

"I've just been to do the same thing but I'm afraid she hasn't felt up to visitors today. I must apologise on her behalf but it seems that you might have a wasted journey. If you like I can give you a ride back to Shibden?" He took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit with match, puffing on it as he spoke. 

"Thank you for the offer Mr Ainsworth, but I said that I would come and check on Miss Walker today and I don't won't go back on my word.. Good day to you Mr Ainsworth" She tipped her hat and continued to the front door; Mr Ainsworth stood watching with the tip of the cigarette hanging from his bottom lip before getting into his motor. Anne waited until he was driving away until she knocked on the door, she listened intently to the sound of an inner door creaking and light footsteps making their way to the front door. 

"Oh! Doctor Lister - I wasn't expecting you to visit" 

"Well, I know you told me not to make a fuss but given the shock you were in yesterday and the bump to your head, I wouldn't have settled had I not come and checked on you" 

Miss Walker was leaning against the door and smiled, her slippered foot brushing against the edge of the door. Anne could hear the faint sound of music coming from inside but couldn't recognise the tune "That's very kind of you Doctor. Come on in", Miss Walker turned and walked down the corridor, her long taupe skirt was fastened high at the waist, showing her curved frame with the hem gently kissing the skin above her heels as she delicately placed one foot in front of another; her white blouse was of fine material which was subtly showing the outline of her undergarments. Anne closed the heavy door behind her and followed into the parlour. It was larger than her own at Shibden, there were two chairs, one on either side of the room that were deep set and clearly handmade, with a long sofa stretching across the bay window. In the corner of the room the gramophone whirling a record around, Anne listened to the music, trying to place the song or the artist but she couldn't. She watched as Miss Walker walked over to it and lifted the needle from the record, the music ceasing. "I'm afraid that my Aunt isn't here, she has gone out for lunch with some of her lady friends. Please take a seat"

"Thats ok, I can come and visit her another time. But she must be feeling better if she has felt up to going out"

"Yes, well my Aunt is quite partial to gossip and wouldn't miss the opportunity to be the centre of attention... The way she has been telling the story you would imagine her stood at the operating table with you" both women laughed at the thought. Anne didn't know Mrs Walker very well, in fact she only met her after the accident but could well imagine what her niece said to be perfectly true. 

There was a brief pause, it was about to turn into an uncomfortable silence until Miss Walker offered Anne some tea. "That would be lovely thank you".

Miss Walker left the room to make the tea and Anne took the opportunity to study the room. It was a strange room she thought, where two worlds collided together - old and new. The beams of the original room along with expensive antique furniture were still there. There was a dark mahogany antiques table in the corner topped with a new gramophone, beside it on the floor lay a trunk full of records of differing variety, their colourful sleeves creased and well worn. The Edwardian fireplace was grand and unlit, it was June after all, sitting atop of the mantel was a clear vase filled with wildflowers and a photograph. Anna looked at it closely feeling that she recognised the subjects and suspected it was Miss Walker and her sister but as she attempted to take a closer look she was interrupted by the clattering of the crockery as Miss Walker pushed the door open with her elbow, letting the door rest on her hips before letting it close slowly behind her. Anna got up to take the tray from Miss Wardle but she wouldn't hear of it, insisting that Anne take a seat while she poured out the tea. Anne watched as Miss Walker lowered the tray onto the mahogany coffee table, and sit on the sofa beside her, leaning over slightly to pour the tea into the cups "You were right about the black eye Doctor, I look like a fine Brute today" she laughed as she handed one of the cups and saucers over to Anne "Mr Priestly, my cousin, thought I had been a victim of a mugging" she took a sip of her tea "He and his wife are run the school in the village, I'm a teacher there, I should have been there today but they insisted that I take the day off to recover from the shock of yesterday. I think it is more that they don't want me to be seen at school with a bruised eye in case the children's parents think I've been keeping company with the wrong sort. Imagine that. I should think that the whole of England has heard about the motorcrash by now if my Aunt has anything to do with it" she paused "But I'm glad you have come to visit, since working at the school I've become quite unused to being at alone at home throughout the day"

"What about Mr Ainsworth? We bumped into one another as I was arriving, he told me that you weren't up to visitors"

"That's what I told him", she blushed as if she felt guilty "You must think me wicked doctor, Mr Ainsworth is a fine enough chap but he can be quite slow at taking a hint"

"Perhaps you should be a little more direct with him, if he is becoming bothersome" 

Miss Walker nodded, taking another sip of her tea "Yes, perhaps" she replied as if contemplating "I was quite surprised yesterday" she smiled "that you remembered me from our last meeting"

There it was again, Anne thought, that smile, it was delicate and sincere, it was the type of smile that it was impossible for someone to see it and not smile right back. "Why did you think that I wouldn't remember you?"

"Well" she continued to sip at her tea, the saucer resting on her lap "I was quite young, and shy. I remember you were talking to my sister Elizabeth more than I and I supposed that you thought me, quite, well, dull" 

Anne saw Miss Walker blush as she looked down as if seeing an imaginary blemish the china saucer on her lap "Oh, not at all" she lied "it was a difficult time for you both, it's natural that you wouldn't feel talkative" 

"I didn't say it at the time but me and my sister were really glad of your visit. You were the first ones to visit us after our parents died and well, you made our lives a little brighter that day"

For once Anne didn't know how to respond, she opened her mouth as if to say something but ended up giving a nod and a smile and then felt like an idiot for not saying something. 

"What are your plans now that you're back from London?"

"Oh, no real plans as such Miss Walker, this and that really. I try not to plan too much; it ruins the chance of spontaneity" Anne placed her mouth to her cup to see that it was empty, she saw that Miss Walker smiled knowingly and poured some more tea from the pot. 

"my Aunt told that you teach at the village school and I must say I find it quite curious Miss Walker, a woman of your pedigree working as a teacher" 

"Oh Doctor Lister, I hate the word pedigree, it makes me feel like a poodle at Crufts. My Aunt says the same, that it's beneath me" She emphasised the last two words "I became a little unwell after I got news of my brother's passing and my family felt that I needed a focus. I'd supported the school for many years and thought teaching would give me a sense of purpose. It was the best decision I could have made - I love it, truly"

They talked for hours about London, Miss Walker had never been. Well, she had but not in the way that Anne thought she should have been. She had been to some of the main sights on the way to visiting friends and family residing in the capital but had never experienced the 'real' London, drinking in a London bar or seeing a show on at the west end. She offered to take Miss Walker sometime if she would like, Miss Walker said she would but Anne wasn't sure if she really wanted to or if Miss Walker was just being polite. She thought Miss Walker seemed genuinely interested in her plans to enhanced Shibeden Hall. It was 16:00 before Anne looked at her watch, alarmed at the time and regrettably had to make her apologies and leave.

"Do you have any plans for this week doctor Lister?" Anne had stepped over the threshold and they were back as they were three hours before when Anne first arrived with Miss Walker leaning against the front door, black eye on display rubbing the toe of her slipper against the tiled floor. 

"umm, nothing particularly.. why do you ask?"

"The weather has been fine today and all we did was sit inside, I thought that you might like to take a walk in the grounds sometime? We've updated things since you were last here. I could show you the garden's around Crow Nest, we built a lake a couple of years back"

"That would be splendid Miss Walker, I'd like that very much" Anne had been hoping to see what developments had been made around Crow Nest, it was there where she had visited the Walker sisters previously and was impressed by the grounds surrounding the Georgian mansion. She hoped to make some improvements to Shibden and it's gardens, to modernise it and bring it into the 20th century. "What day do you have in mind?" 

Miss Walker looked up as if pondering "How about Saturday? I should really like to go back to school tomorrow black eye or no black eye. I could arrange a picnic and we could eat near the lake. I haven't been there in so long. Perhaps you could come here at around midday? "

"Saturday it is Miss Walker, I will see you at midday" Anne tipped her hat and turned on her heels making her way down the path, she could sense Miss Walker still stood at the door but when she got to the gate at the end of the garden path, she turned to find the door closed and Miss Walker had gone. 

......................

It was curious to Anne at how she had been looking forward to returning to Lydgate. Was she looking forward to seeing the sweet Miss Walker again or was she just looking forward to looking around the gardens of Crow Nest and the rest of the Walker estate? - she didn't know. But she had surprised herself that she had taken more trouble over choosing her outfit than she did at their last meeting. Of course, Anne's outfit was going to contain a great deal of black, her outfits always did.

Anne ate her breakfast with her father, her Aunt and her sister Marian. Her Aunt Anne seemed to spending more time out of her bedchamber since her return as if it had given her a boost somehow having both of her niece's home, she didn't have to worry about where they were and waiting for letters to bring news like a Nightingale waiting for the spring. Anne had been getting on with her sister since she arrived back home; growing up she had thought that they didn't get on because they were polar opposites of each other, but the older Anne got the more she realised that they weren't so different. Infact, they were quite similar, both strong women with stronger opinions and instead it bringing them closer together, it repelled them like two north poles of a magnet. Anne suspected that this unspoken truce that they had been enjoying over the past three days would slowly ebb away but she decided to remain positive.

She had felt some trepidation as she looked out of the window that morning, the sky was full of cloud that gave the air a chill and swamped the area in shadow as far as she could see. She had thought as she had set off how she wished for the cloud to disappear and make way for the sun. As if by some kind of miracle, as she was leaving the Lister estate on her way to Lydgate, the clouds began to part allowing the sunlight to gloriously shine through, bringing with it it's warmth. Had Anne's wishes made this happen? She doubted it, but she couldn't help but think of herself like Moses who parted the Red Sea to let the Israelites escape the Egyptian army. By the time she arrived at Lydgate, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the air was warm. Perfect for a summer picnic. 

Anne tapped her knuckles against the door and 20 odd seconds had gone by with no sign of life inside. She was about to knock again when suddenly she saw movement and the door opened to show a flushed Miss Walker "Oh Doctor Lister, come in. I'm afraid that I overthought this picnic and made way too much food. It has caused me to run a little behind. Would you mind coming in while I get my things together?" 

Anne followed Miss Walker into the house and waited in the parlour until she was ready. Anne had wondered if Miss Walker had made trouble over her outfit in the way that she had earlier that morning? She had clearly made some effort; she was wearing a purple drop waist dress which finished just below the knee, her hair was tied with a wine-coloured silk scarf with some of her blonde curls loose and brushing against her shoulders. After 10 minutes or so Miss Walker poked her head around the parlour door to tell Anne that she was ready. She had powdered her face but Anne could still make out a slight tinge of blue above her sleek, curved eyebrow where the bruise still showed; the small wound that she had inspected just a few days before was now closed with a thin scab which Miss Walker had attempted to cover with the powder but made the small area of skin look flakey. It will take a week or more before the bruise will turn into a faint yellow before eventually disappearing. As they were about to leave the house Anne could see the picnic basket was too heavy for Miss Walker to carry it comfortably so she gallantly offered to carry it. Miss Walker resisted first out of politeness but Anne could tell that she was grateful for the offer and quite glad not to have to carry it around. Anne wondered what she had in there to make it so heavy. She noticed Miss Walker had a silk ribbon around her left wrist, it was the same colour as her headscarf. 

From Lydgate Miss Walker directed Anne over to the Lightcliffe school which sat opposite the house. It had been built in 1869 by the Walker family themselves, Miss Walker knew all of the family history and seemed proud to be able to share this part of her heritage. Miss Walker told how she attended the school as a girl, back then boys and girls were taught separately, the boys by a male teacher and the girls taught by a female. When the war started most of the male teachers were conscripted to fight, this made the boys class sizes too big and eventually it had to be accepted that the boys would be taught by women too and the classes merged. The Lightcliffe school was a long building - typical Victorian architecture thought Anne as she studied the gables as they walked by "And over there Doctor Lister, is where I once got in a fight with Lydia Fenton". 

Anne thought she had misheard "You had got into a fight? I find it so hard to believe that you could ever be involved in a brawl, you don't seem the type"

Miss Walker smiled, her cheeks reddening under the power "She ran into my brother knocking him over and sending all of his new school books flying into a puddle. He had to spend his first day of school in wet shorts with his legs covered in mud. I thought Elizabeth might have said something but she didn't and I had to stand up for my little brother. They were all laughing at him. I got two strikes of the cane for that" she rubbed the palm of her hand as if remembering the pain. "My mother was furious. When I got home I tried to hide the mark from the cane on my hand but my mother saw it when I was washing my hands before dinner. I got the scold of my life from her that night then she sent my father down to the school to scold the teacher who gave me the cane" 

"Well Miss Walker, you have gone up in my estimation. Well done for sticking up for your brother"

"Thank you" Miss Walker replied, looking rather triumphant "As it turns out Lydia and I became quite good friends afterwards. We still see each other regularly now". 

Anne followed Miss Walker as they started to approach the gardens of Crow Nest "Unfortunately, I can't show you inside as it's being rented out but i'm sure they won't mind us taking a look around outside. Do you remember Doctor, this is where you walked with Elizabeth and I all of those years ago" 

Anne did remember, she remembered how shy and awkward Miss Walker had seemed to her on that meeting. She certainly wasn't the woman that she saw now or the plucky schoolgirl who got into a fight on her brother's behalf. Anne prided herself on being a sound judge of character but she had to admit to herself something that she didn't admit to herself freely, that she had been wrong. Anne shuddered to herself, she loathed being wrong. She saw Miss Walker fiddling with the silk cord around her wrist, it turned out to be the strap for a lace parasol that Miss Walker had extended and placed behind her head, Anne watched as Miss Walker slowly twirled the handle of the parasol in her hands and thought how Miss Walker looked like she about to take a stroll at the seaside rather than in the Yorkshire countryside. 

The gardens were splendid with curved flower beds displaying the most wonderful floral displays. The beds were vibrant and colourful which attracted the honey bees who were buzzing from flower to flower in search for the golden pollen. The outer gardens were lined with beautifully clipped hedges which led to the lower gardens, they followed the path down the landscaped tiers, passed the fountains and down to the lake. The lake was not part of the land which was rented along with Crow Nest so Miss Walker suggested that this might be a nice place to stop and eat.

The gardens had given Anne some good ideas for what she might be able to achieve in Shibden albeit on a much smaller scale but she felt quite glad to be given the opportunity to stop and put down the picnic basket on which the handle had started to dig into the palm of her hand. She felt the immediate relief of placing the basket on the ground but a second later felt the burning tingling sensation of paraesthesia - pins and needles, Anne tried to abate the sensation by curling her hand into a fist and releasing it several times to stimulate the blood flow, she did this behind her back so Miss Walker couldn't see. Anne opened the bag to see that Miss Walker had packed a large blanket which the pair had spread-out on the embankment of the lake; there were also cups, a bottle of tea which was wrapped in a cloth to keep the liquid warm along with finger sandwiches filled with cucumber and cream cheese, salad, cakes, pastries and tartlets; there were cups for the tea and some plates for eating from Anne had seen that Miss Walker had also packed some cutlery, sugar for the tea and salt wrapped in paper for added flavour; Anne smiled to herself, Miss Walker really had thought of everything - no wonder the basket was so heavy she thought as she contracted and released her hand a few more times.

The pair laid out the items on the blanket and they agreed that it looked like a proper feast, Miss Walker poured out the tea while Anne dished out some of the food. Anne noted how relaxed Miss Walker seemed, she was sat on the picnic blanket, leant slightly on her hip with her legs laid out, slightly creased at the knee. After a few moments Miss Walker slipped off her shoes, letting her feet enjoy the air, her parasol was resting at the top of the blanket providing some much needed shade for the salad. 

Conversation had turned back to London and Anne's work as a doctor during the war. Miss Walker listened in earnest as Anne recounted her tales from the hospitals and the operating theatre, occasionally covering her eyes at the gruesome stories she was listening to. "What's the funniest thing you have ever seen at the hospital?" 

"Oh gosh, there are so many things.. let me think" she replied as Miss Walker lay onto her side, arm stretched out above her head, elbow curved allowing her hand to cup her chin as she looked, waiting to be entertained "There was once a gentleman that came into the hospital one evening, he was in his late 40's and was looking rather sheepish... Oh, but Miss Walker, I don't think that I should tell you such stories"

"But you can't start off a story like this and not finish it!" she exclaimed " I will forever be wondering about it"

Anne thought about it and relented "Ok, Miss Walker but you have been warned... so he comes in and tells me that he has a problem" she paused for dramatic effect, waiting for Miss Walker to prompt her again to continue "He had something stuck somewhere.... he had a boiled egg stuck in his... you know.."

"No?!" Miss Walker laughed "How on earth did he.." she playfully covered her eyes with her hands as she laughed as if she could imagine it.

"According to him, he was standing at the bus stop waiting for the number 42 bus when a group of youths ran past and accosted him, shoving a boiled egg up his bottom. It took quite a good few hours to remove but when we did, we found that the egg was without it's shell. So whether the shell is still in there somewhere or it was removed before hand I do not know"

"Oh! I don't think I will eat a boiled egg again" Miss Walker was chuckling but then grimaced as she imagined the egg extraction. 

"Personally, I didn't believe his story. You'd be surprised at how many men came to the emergency room with items stuck in their bottoms...But an egg was certainly the most unique"

"So how do you suppose that it got there?.. you don't suppose" she looked around to check that there was no one who could over hear "that he did it himself or ..... a lady friend did it?" she asked blushing.

"You would be surprised at some of the things people do in their own homes Miss Walker. People are strange creatures, we all have our secrets, our quirks"

Miss Walker continued to look in disbelief. There felt a gentle silence and Miss Walker lay onto the blanket letting the sun fall onto her face "Isn't the sun heavenly Doctor Lister? It's my most favourite time of the year"

"It's is a beautiful day indeed"

"You know, when I looked outside the window this morning and saw how overcast it was, I was so disappointed. I'd hoped that the clouds would float away and leave just the sun in it's wake.. and then would you believe it... like that, I saw the rays of light shine through the clouds" 

"I also did the same thing. I saw the clouds part and watch the sun seep through. Can you imagine Miss Walker, we probably wished for the same thing at the exact same time"

"We must have" she turned her head to look at Anne but her expression changed, looking almost concerned. "Are you not warm in that outfit? I'm surprised to see you wearing black on such a warm day like this"

"I always wear black Miss Walker, it suits me I think" but now Miss Walker had said it, she did feel a little warm, she undid the top two buttons on her shirt which allowed some of the air to get to her neck. 

"It does suit you Doctor, but I think also brighter colours would also suit you" Miss Walker began lightly humming with her eyes closed, the sight made Anne stretch her legs out to relax.

"I don't know about you Miss Walker, but do you think we might now be somewhat friends as this is now our second meeting?" 

"I'd like to think so" 

"So do you think we might be less formal? You might call me by my first name if you'd like"

She saw Miss Walker smile as she continued to lie in the sun with her eyes closed. "I'd like that very much, and you do the same to me of course...we share the same name...Ann and Anne" 

Anne looked at the clear skies all around, only interrupted by the line of smoke coming from one of the factories outside of the village. Anne closed her own eyes, listening to the sound of the wildlife and Miss Walker's gentle humming, Anne didn't recognise the tune, it was probably one of the songs from her vast array of records stored in the trunk of her parlour.

After a while they decided that it might be time to pack up the things and make their way back through to Lydgate. It was quite a walk and Anne had to make her way back to Shibden which was a good 30-minute trek, 20 if she walked briskly. Though she didn't particularly want to, Anne felt she shouldn't be back home too late as her Aunt would be expecting her home for dinner and she would only get ear ache from Marian if she was late and the dinner went cold. Anne was pleased to find that the picnic basket wasn't as heavy on the way back, they had surprisingly eaten most of the sandwiches and occasionally throwing pieces of pastry and bits of sandwiches to the hungry birds swirling the lake. Ann Walker walked alongside swirling her parasol over her head, she had enjoyed today, stating that it was a pity that the afternoon flew by so quickly. Most of her friends were now married so she didn't get to enjoy the company of people her own age so much these days. Had Miss Walker thought about getting married? She wasn't sure, she had some offers and felt that Mr Ainsworth was probably interested but she hadn't met the person that she wanted to marry. 

"Would you like to get married one day Anne?" the question wasn't wholly unexpected as they were talking about marriage but Anne wasn't quite sure how to respond. It also felt strange that Miss Walker, Ann had called her by their first name, but it was a nice change and she liked it. 

"I think one day I might" she paused "to the right person"

"And what kind of person might that be?" She could see Ann looking at her through the corner of her eye though Anne pretended to look forward, towards the plume of smoke from the factories ahead. 

"Someone kind, someone who will accept me as I am, warts and all..... someone will love me"

"Well, I think there is someone out there for everyone... the hardest part is finding them, but when you do.... well, then it's just magic"

Anne smiled and looked over to Ann to was still twirling the handle of her parasol and looking down at the grass. Anne got a strange taste in her mouth; it was the bitter taste of smoke and she looked up to see that it wasn't from outside of the village as she had thought but it was coming where they were heading, towards Lydgate. Anne quickened her pace which didn't go unnoticed by Ann who looked up and saw the same billowing smoke.

"Oh Anne!" exclaimed Miss Walker as they both began to run through the gardens and across the village to Lydgate house. Anne fared a little better at the running than Ann Walker did as Miss Walker's shoes were flimsey lace type shoes and not suitable for anything more than lazily ambling through the grass. 

Their fears were realised as they entered the lane and could see Miss Walker's servants and helpers outside helping the fire department to extinguish the fire. Anne ran further down the lane to help with the efforts leaving a distressed Miss Walker at the bottom of the lane with her hands at her mouth. It took an hour before the fire had died and the firemen were putting out the last embers that were burning here and there. It was an accident; the cook had claimed. She was preparing a casserole in the kitchen when she kept hearing a knock on the door; children playing knock-a-door-run, she went to the front door to find no one there so she went back into the kitchen and put the pot on the heat to start cooking. She heard the knocking again so went back to the front door to answer it and saw again that no one was there. As she was about to turn back into the house she could hear the tittering of children hidden behind the bushes at the end of the house. She went out to scold them, threatening to tell their parents if they didn't desist but when she went back into the house the kitchen and hallway were thick with smoke; she remembered throwing the tea towel against the counter in frustration when the doorbell rang the second time but the realisation set in that she had thrown it at the pan, it only took a smidgen of the fabric to catch fire and within a few seconds the kitchen was in flames. Stupidly she didn't call her help immediately and tried to put it out on her own but with the fear of being engulfed in flames herself she managed to escape and alert the other servants in the grounds. Mrs Walker, Ann's Aunt had not long returned home from visiting the vicar's house for tea and was also luckily not hurt.

Ann listened as the cook recounted her story of what happened but she didn't look angry, only concerned for those were in the house at the time. As long as they were ok, that was the most important thing. 

Anne looked up at the damage. There was no way that house was going to be habitable again anytime soon. Anne watched the realisation hit Ann Walker the same time as it did here. "Oh Anne, what a mess this is. I don't know what me and my Aunt shall do"

"What about your other properties Ann, could you stay there temporarily?"

"I don't think so, they are all rented out.... If I give them notice then they will move but the contracts all state 4 weeks notice must be given. My cousins, the Priestley's have gone to visit friends in Manchester so I can't ask them either"

"Well, there is only one thing for it Ann, you and your Aunt are coming to spend the night at Shibden.


End file.
